Carmoney

I agree with Toolguy. I'd be looking for a nice 8-shot next. A good 625 and 8-shot 627 will handle pretty much all the competition wheelgunning you will find out there. If you want to shoot IDPA SSR, a 4" K- or L-frame .38/.357 is something you will need also.

If you really want to impress us, post a photo of her sitting at the machine loading your ammo for you.

Bill, your post touches on an interesting issue--there are several other types of internal problems that can very closely mimic an unintended IL activation. Your gunsmith identified the internal trigger stop (the piece of rod which rides inside the rebound spring) as the problem in your case. Sounds entirely possible to me, particularly if the stop was left with a sharp edge that was catching every now and then. Recently I handled a mint-condition S&W that would intermittently lock up for no apparent reason. Most of the time it was just fine, but every now and then when you attempted to cycle the action, the trigger would lock tight in the forward position, the hammer wouldn't come back, and the cylinder wouldn't turn. It felt exactly like somebody had used the key to lock the IL system for safe storage. There was only one problem--this was an older gun that didn't have the IL system!! Actually, I've seen that issue crop up several times in the past. It's usually caused by a cylinder stop that has had too much "fitting work" done, or a gun with retarded carry-up which allows the cylinder stop to briefly drop down and then almost immediately re-engage the same notch on the cylinder before the cylinder turns far enough to move the notch out of the way. In the instance I described, it was a timing issue which I fixed by fitting a thicker hand. But I will guarantee ya, if this had been a newer gun, the IL system would have been blamed! My point here is that even claimed first-hand experience may be inaccurate. Not that those folks intend to mislead anybody, they just might not be ruling out all the other potential problems that could be manifesting the exact same symptom.

Let's keep this in perspective, now. Keeping the IL system intact will limit you to a hammer that has all the correct geometry for the IL to function. Some types of radically cut-away hammers (including the Carmonized hammer) are not compatible with the IL. Otherwise, actual documented malfunctions of the S&W IL system are extraordinarily rare. In the context of competition shooting (which is the focus here on BE), it's certainly not worth worrying about. So as long as you have an appropriate hammer installed in your gun, put the IL flags back in there, forget the whole loctite nonsense, and just go shoot!!

Aristotle: Not only will I be happy to help you out with your Rossi, but under these extraordinary circumstances I wouldn't dream of charging you for it! If you would like to proceed, the information for shipping me your gun are located on my dealer forum here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=192 Sometimes locating parts for guns like this can be a challenge. But I think I have located the hand, hammer nose spring and rivet--which are most of the parts I would need to get it up and running for you again. I'm still looking for a hammer nose--Numrich is out of stock, but I have a couple other sources to check. If not, it may be possible to fabricate a suitable replacement from a hammer nose from another model. We'll figure it out. My own most treasured firearm is also a .38 snubby, an old Chief's Special that my grandfather and dad both carried on duty. My 17-year-old son Sam (who is named after my grandfather) asks me to get it out of the safe every now and then, just to look at it and remember the times he spent as a young boy with his great-grandpa.....

Absotively. All other things being equal, a lighter hammer is better for primer ignition. A fast slap beats a slow crushing blow every time. That's why so many of us use lightened hammers in our competition revolvers--like the one in my avatar!

Guys, the Iowa King of Revo (3DR) match will not be held in 2010. We're tentatively planning to bring it back for 2011.

Happy birthdays go out to my friends Sam and John! Have a good one, guys!

That's the first thing I thought of, too. These days, most sales of personal residences don't generate capital gains tax.

There will eventually come a time when you're glad we're there! Last-called until most-needed. Then you can be someone's new best friend. People tend to be awfully grateful after I dig them out from the holes they dig for themselves. Quite often, it's because they refused to face the reality of the gray-area world in which we live, choosing instead to see things as absolute.

The database is such a friggin' mess in Revolver Division already.....B-level shooters who are selective about the classifiers they shoot (or just happen to shoot the ones that have the "easy" high hit factors) can become Ms and GMs waaaaaaaay too easily. This has been a problem for several years. The class inflation in Revo is way outta control.

I would add that I think (all other things being equal) an 8-round minor revo and a 6-round major revo would potentially be very close. The 8-rounder would be easier to shoot and have two more rounds per reload. The 6-rounder would score more points and allow slightly faster reloads. It would be pretty close--stage design would make the difference on which format would be best. Or so it seems to me.

The last three posts are correct. The SSC is always set up in 8-round arrays, to make damn sure nobody wins using 10+1 minor! Maybe a search won't pick it up easily, but we have discussed this topic, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, here on the Revo forum.

There will eventually come a time when you're glad we're there!

I understand the appeal of trying to make everything completely objective--I really do. But one thing I have learned in practicing law is that well-intended efforts to completely "objectify the situation" tend to create new problems, unintended harsh consequences, and fundamental injustice down the line. Do we really want a situation where a toe touching down outside the shooting area (barely) can completely screw your match? Where carrying a briefcase with the handle an inch above the belt (instead of an inch below the belt) can drop you out of contention at Nationals? Too harsh. Or so it seems to me.

Changing to a 6-shot cylinder is perfectly viable, although it would only make sense monetarily if you get a heck of a deal on the 686+. The cylinder and extractor would need to be fit, and that can be time-consuming. The hand will probably not need to be changed out. Finding a nice used 6-shot 686 would probably be your best bet, given your budget constraints. Used revolvers are not nearly as cheap as they were 20 years ago when the cop shops were trading them in en masse for Glocks and 5906s, but if you look around you can still find them at reasonable levels.

June 12-13, 2010 -- Polo, IL

Sounds great! I sure appreciate you guys at TriCounty picking up the ball and running with it. This will be my first time shooting at your club, and I'm looking forward to seeing the range and running the stages.

Jim, that works both ways, y'know! Guarantee that multiple gun prizes will be awarded in every USPSA division, and you're more likely to get the serious Revolver shooters to sign up for your match. To be honest, I sorta expect to see a major prize awarded to the winners of every USPSA division at an Area match. That should be the starting point for prize distribution. After that you can look at classes and categories to see where the rest of the stuff should go. Regardless.....I'm looking forward to it!

Actually, I couldn't care less about headgear. This thread is simply an experiment to see how long it takes frickin' Hopalong to jump on here and point out that "Y'all can wear either one of them kinda hats at the Memphis Charity Challenge in November."

Bring it, Squirt.

Absolutely, Jim! Those stages look like they'd be fun as hell to shoot with a revo! I'll go on record with you and every match director from here to eternity......please don't ever feel like you need to design stages to be "revolver-friendly" for us. We shoot revolver in USPSA matches because we enjoy the extra challenge. Gimme a big ol' 32-round field course with lots of options!

I'm going to sign up for the SatPM/SunAM option and start a wheelgun squad. Who's with me?

I use the plain rubber Hogues, but my hands are medium-sized. Guys with larger hands sometimes do well with Pachmayr Grippers or Presentation grips.

Not any more rounds than necessary! Those guns are absolutely awful to shoot. Answer: Probably more than 50, but less than 100.